The ISU men’s and women’s track and field teams will kick off competition this winter with the beginning of their indoor track and field season.

Under fifth-year head coach Corey Ihmels, the distance squads on both the men’s and women’s sides have seen tremendous success. Much of this success is due to the performance of their four All-Americans – especially four-time NCAA champion Lisa Koll.

“With Coach Ihmels as our coach, we’ll have a lot of chances at success with the distance races,” assistant coach Travis Hartke said.

A former Cyclone himself, Ihmels was a six-time All-America long-distance runner and a member of the ISU’s 1994 NCAA championship cross country team.

The ISU coaching staff is composed of Ihmels and six assistants; distance coaches Hartke and Kristy Popp, sprints and hurdles coach Nate Wiens, throws coach Grant Wall, jumps and multi-events coach Pete Herber and volunteer assistant Benji Wetli.

Of the 103 athletes on the team’s roster, 43 are native Iowans and 10 are from foreign countries. The international athletes hail from many countries, including Kenya, Germany, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Cyclones have not yet won a Big 12 conference championship on either the men’s or women’s side since the conference’s formation in 1996. That’s something that the team is trying to change.

“As a program you look at where we’re at in the Big 12, and where we really want to be is at that next level,” Hartke said.

Expectations are high for the women’s team next year as they return with bevy of talented runners, including sprinter Kianna Elahi, thrower Laishema Hampton and three-time All-American distance runner Betsy Saina.

“On the women’s side, we have a chance to do some big things on the conference and the national level,” Hartke said.

The men will bring back an experienced group of sprinters and a young crop of jumpers as they try to break into the top half of the Big 12 standings.

The Lied Recreation Athletic Center has hosted 16 indoor events over the last three seasons, including the 2010 Big 12 Indoor Championships and three NCAA Qualifier meets.

“[At home meets] there’s always a lot of people – that’s for sure. You can expect every weekend that there’ll be a lot of teams here, [and a] lot of great performance at all collegiate levels,” Hartke said.